Own Your Music Career

It may be easier said than done, but you can control of your career as a self-managed artist. Millions of people do it every day. Some are even very successful. The hardest thing to balance is keeping your career on track without losing your creative edge.

Start by making a list of your strong points and your weak points. What are you the best at? Are you great with finances? Making a realistic list of your strengths and weaknesses will allow you to take the time to learn about the things that you are not 100% sure of. You can grow as both an artist and a manager.

Same as making a list about your pros and cons, you need to make a list of your goals. You should set goals for yourself to give you something to reach for. Do you want to be making a certain amount of money, have a certain amount of new fans or just get a set playing at your favorite venue? Whatever your goals are, right them down and make a realistic map of how you are going to get there. If you’re in a band, you want to make sure that you all share the same goals. If you are all going in a different direction, the friction will cause you to fall apart.

Now that you have your goals in order, make sure you have your finances in order to. You need to know what you can spend upfront and what you need to wait for. Is it more important to go out drinking with your friends or could your band really use the extra few hours in the studio? You need to weight out how one thing is going to affect another. One day, you won’t be penny pinching and you’ll be able to go out for a few drinks with your friends after you spent an entire day in the studio. For now, be mindful, especially if you are making this your career.

Even though you are trying to handle the business end of your career as well, you need to stay focused on your creative energy every single day. If you lose yourself as an artist, you will no longer be managing your music career. It is important to make time for that as much as you can during the day.